Garden gnomes, an Oyster card and a chocolate state coach: unusual gifts given to the royal family

16 JANUARY 2014
What do you give the family who has everything? A list of the gifts received by members of the royal household suggests that some hosts and visitors veer towards the unusual when it comes to buying presents for the Queen and her family.

In the case of the monarch, most dignitaries decided upon ornate jewellery and other lavish items including a gold jewelled frame set on a jewelled ostrich egg, and four enamelled scarab beetles.

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More surprising was the chocolate version of Windsor Castle and an edible replica of the royal family's state coach, which the Queen received during a visit to the Mars headquarter in Slough. While visiting Baker Street tube station on the 150th anniversary of London Underground last March, she was also presented with a commemorative Oyster card.

No doubt a highlight for Prince Charles was the ceramic figurine and framed animation of him with Postman Pat. Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall also received perfumes, books and ornaments from their visits to Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.

Athletic Prince Harry received a number of sports-related goods during his visit to the US in May, including four baseball caps and rucksacks. The superintendent of the US air force academy decided to give the Prince a falconry glove, along with a football kitbag, three T-shirts, two pairs of shorts and an American football shirt.

Harry also received a leather flying jacket from First Lady Michelle Obama when he visited Washington DC in May, and a lookalike doll made by a New York-based 3D printing firm.

Prince Andrew was given a number of edible gifts, from Turkish Delight to a gingerbread cathedral - but it was his sister Princess Anne who received the most unusual items.

Her presents included an art print of her riding a moose, a knitted hat with horse's ears, a garden gnome, a plastic angel and a book called Your Arms Remind Me of Pork Luncheon Meat.